The Nether
The Nether '(Also referred to as "'The Nexus" in Notch's Blog on Tumblr and was previously known as Hell and The Slip) is part of the Minecraft Halloween Update. It exists in a completely different world from the normal world above. The terrain is dimly lit, full of lava streams flowing from the ceiling, sudden cliffs, and lava lakes, making it extremely dangerous to explore. The ceiling and the base of the Nether are made of bedrock. Mushrooms are also commonly found. If the player dies in The Nether, they will be transported back to the spawn point on the surface world. Maps can be made of the nether, but they can only be created while there. If a player brings a map of the Over World into the nether it will stay the same but the marker that represents the player will be absent. Travel The portals are made by creating a 4x5 (2x3 on inside) door frame out of Obsidian and then lighting the inside of the frame on fire with flint and steel. The corners of the frame may be left out, using only 10 obsidian. When you stand inside the portal for the first time, it will create a portal in its equivalent area of the Nether. A loading screen will appear during the change of worlds. A portal can be shut down if part of the obsidian frame is removed. When re-entering the normal world, any distance covered in The Nether is multiplied by 8, effectively making The Nether a fast-travel zone that allows for greater distances to be covered in a short amount of time in the normal world. Walking through a portal will not teleport the player―in order to use them, the player has to stand still inside the purple haze. Currently, they will not transport mobs or minecarts. Attempting to go through a portal while in a minecart will result in the player needing to restart the game to continue. Mobs and Enemies Mobs that spawn in the main world do not appear here. Instead, there are special mobs that appear only in the Nether (although Ghasts have an extremely small chance of spawning through a portal on the surface world.) *Ghasts―Flying jellyfish-like monsters that shoot fireballs. They can be damaged by any conventional weapons, but they do not get hurt when on fire, only when touching it. A Ghast can fly into lava falls or lava lakes, but even if they burn they don't get damaged (As of the November 10th Update). The fireballs they shoot can be deflected back at them using a fist or any tool by hitting it just before impact (shooting an arrow or using the fishing rod on the fireballs works too). They drop sulphur. *Zombie Pigmen―Peaceful, humanoid creatures that turn hostile when attacked. They drop a cooked porkchop when killed. They carry gold swords, and do 2.5 damage. Attacking one causes all nearby Pigmen to attack you too. Blocks Blocks can be brought to and from the main world. So far, there are three block types only found in the Nether: *Netherrack―This block burns indefinitely, and is the main block type forming the Nether. Setting these on fire while travelling in the Nether is a great way to save on torches. *Glowstone―A golden block that glows indefinitely, commonly found as stalactites on the ceiling of the Nether. These can be used as a light source underwater on the surface world, and the powder produced when it is mined is suspected to be an ingredient in making lanterns. *Soul Sand―A brown block resembling a creeper face. When walked on, it slows the movement speed of the player and mobs that walk across it, and makes them sink down a tiny bit. It can be used to create minecart-only passageways and docks. There are three blocks that spawn in both worlds: Lava, gravel and bedrock. Also found in both worlds are both brown and red mushrooms. Water cannot be brought to the Nether due to the fact that all water placed will evaporate immediately due to the extreme heat and will instead turn into steam. However, you will have no problem placing lava in the Nether.